Caught an article earlier this afternoon by Danny Rubin, titled ’25 Things Every Young Professional Should Know by Age 25′. The article outlines several technological or psychological principles you should have learned, or should be learning as a developing person. As with most articles, there were bits I completely disregarded, some I felt true, but one, #2, ‘The only failure in your 20s is inaction. Everything else is trial and error’, really stuck in my head. As with many gearheads, I started at a young age doing small bolt-ons, depending mostly on questionable-at-best forum resources to push my abilities further and further.

There’s a lot that can lead to discouragement when you’re looking at the overbearing task of transforming your project into your street or track dream. Money, resources, worrying about being thorough and doing the job right, time, tools; there are dozens of things that actively pressure us to prevent the projects from moving forward. Some of these things we can’t really change. After purchasing my most recent project, it sat through the winter because I wouldn’t spend the money to purchase space heaters in the garage, saying I would hit it hard when it got warm. Then in February, I got called out to work out of state for what ended up being the better part of two months, completely unable to keep working even if I had all of the time and energy ready to go. I flew back on some weekends, but the compressor seal went on my daily driver, so my weekends were mostly devoted to pulling all the intercooler piping, cleaning everything that was now slobbered in oil, and rebuilding the blower, all so I’d have something I’d be able to drive again once I would be working back in my home state.

There can be a lot of things that push our projects further and further on the back burner that happen out of pure circumstance. This is in a large part why you see so many unfinished projects for sale. The sheer, undeniable gravity of forging ahead when coupled with circumstance and real life can ultimately question what was once your passion and almost nearly turn it into a burden; so you slap a For Sale sign on it, and move on with your life.

However, I feel that more often than not, these barriers we set up for ourselves can be easy to overcome with the right motivation. Even after years of being involved in modifying cars for the street and track, there are times when I feel downright overwhelmed with the projects I undertake. I spend time several nights a week, just staring at the project I purchased over the winter, dumbfounded by the amount of effort and time that must be left to feel any pride or adrenaline out of it. So I say ‘tomorrow‘, close the door, and wait for the right motivation to keep pressing on. For me, surrounding myself with similar-minded people has always been a fuel to my motivation. Friends from out of town coming to visit? Better get the timing right or button up the exhaust so I can fire it up for them. Being in the garage with a handful of beers and similar-minded friends can make even the most insurmountable tasks seem minuscule, leaving to ask yourself ‘Why didn’t I do this three weeks ago?’. Regardless of how inexperienced you may be, don’t let your projects overwhelm you, no matter what it is or what you need to do. Go for it. If you’re nervous, or inexperienced, take the time to learn about what you’re trying to do. More often than not, people have done what you’re trying to do before, and have some form of guidance to help you on your way. Even if your project really is one-of-a-kind, the root principles in building cars still all apply. Learn from your mistakes. You’re bound to make them. Don’t let them discourage you, these things can and will happen. It’s important to realize that some of the reasons you’re not progressing on your projects can be preventable. Just remember, the only failure is inaction. Everything else is trial and error.

Link to ’25 Things Every Young Professional Should Know by Age 25′: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/danny-rubin/25-things-every-young-pro_b_3272145.html

Not sure how many people still check this, but I am going to post this regardless of our readership for two reasons: 1) I need somewhere to a record of this project and everything that happens along the way and B) if one person reads it that is good enough for me. My hopes are this project will inspire others to under take a new project or motivate  people to finish/continue/start the project in their garage. (For the record I also have one of those. 1986 Mustang SVO. Hopefully one  day you will see a write up when that projects get started)

Without further ado I give you my newest project: 2000 Ducati Monster 900

This project has been an idea I have had for a while now. I have always loved the Monster design; there is something about that naked trellis frame that i love. Back 3-4 months ago I was helping a friend look for a Monster and had come across an early 2000 Monster 900 Dark. bike was is good condition and I like fell in love with the matte black color of the 900 Dark and that was when i decided i wanted to build a Cafe Racer styled Monster. I didn’t really have any specific idea of what I wanted to do from a design/modification/fabrication standpoint, but I knew i wanted a Monster 900 as the base of the project. The day I went to buy it for my friend/as my project bike (those details were to be hammered out later) I got a call from the owner that it was sold earlier that day. Looking back at that bike I am glad it sold before I bought it. Realistically it wasn’t a project bike plus the asking price was double what I paid for the current project bike.

Last week I finally found the bike I was looking for: a 2000 Ducati Monster 900 with a ton of miles on the frame and a good chunk on the replacement engine. The bike was painted by a previous owner therefore making it much easier to justify repainting everything and tearing the whole bike down to do so. (If you can’t do it right it isn’t worth doing) So keep an eye out for updates regarding the new Cafe Racer styled Monster 900. I have no idea how often I will be posting updates but i can’t wait to start tearing into this project.

One last note regarding projects. Don’t pick up the first one you find unless you know it is the one. Realistically that 900 Dark would have been nice to have, but it was already a complete 100% ready to go bike. This new one is much more of a project bike. I won’t need to justify anything I decide i want to change since it has already been painted and isn’t in perfect shape. Remember good things come to those who wait.

Hopefully I’ll get some pictures up by the end of the week. Here is the photo from the Craigslist add

I defined this equation and graph a while ago, but it’s one of those concepts that  you are always reminded of at the worst possible time and in a much less than pleasant manner. There are the basic mistakes, and those made by the less than vigilant individuals rushing through a problem, which can easily be remedied by following proper engineering procedures and logic processes.

However, there is another, much more sinister potential for failure that is much harder to catch, and typically much more devastating. In almost every case it is caused by the same thing: overthinking the problem – typically caused by trying to be “clever.”

When this is the case, the following will always be true:

The equation utilizes the rule of pi (the fact that for any project the amount of time, effort and money required will always be 3.14159 times your initial expectations, while payoff will 3.14159 time less, with the chance of failure being 3.14159/amount of sleep in the past 24 hours) and a few constants and functions relating mostly to attempts to be clever.

Note that as time thinking increases, you reach an inversion point where the likelihood of failure increases and, initially, begins to oscillate randomly. This corresponds to that point in any project when we begin to rethink our design and try to be “clever.” Note that the chances of failure momentarily reach a negative failure. This is the epiphany moment. Every project has one, though it is brief and 99% of the time we will pass through this moment and never realize it until it’s too late.

As an engineer I have been on the wrong side of this graph on a few occasions, and typically there was a disastrous consequence (though following proper procedure, designs were tested in safe and reliable manners before they were implemented, saving any real harm other than lost time, material and much frustration.). I almost every case the same underlying theme was there: we tried to be clever. In an attempt to save weight, gain power, improve packaging   or similar goals (typically combining a few of these) there would be an overly complicated solution to what is typically an simple problem.

In every case there was an exhaustive list of issues that could have caused the failure. Though as a design becomes more complex and more time is spent on the thought process items which may have been a minor issue and have been easily remedied or diagnosed are now part of a complex system and easy to overlook.

Chances are, it will happen to you at some point. And yes, it will suck. I feel your pain. But take that moment to learn a lesson. And next time keep it simple!

In conclusion, I leave you with the wise words of Pat Clarke: “The trick is, There is no trick!”

I recently was asked to teach a suspension seminar as a guest lecturer for the WPI Motorsports club. If you would like a copy of the slides from my lecture you can view them here:

http://www.tuneddesign.com/Seminars/Sus_101.ppt

I still find that I struggle to succinctly describe suspension design and theory. It is such a broad topic, and requires a in depth discussion of the physics of vehicle dynamics which tends to either bore or confuse/scare most. I’ve been working with vehicle dynamics for 5-6 years now and still find myself reaching for reference material on a regular basis.

With my current round of Engine tuning articles wrapped up (though I am far from done with this topic!) I am going to focus on the same approach for suspension. I still believe I can use the same approach and break it down into the basics with out requiring a PhD. in advanced mathematics to understand. Maybe I can keep fooling you guys into believing I know more than I do. At least I can still stall and sound like I know what I am talking about until I figure it out.

Much like that annoying neighbor or mooching family member, your engine is something you would rather not come knocking. Knock is a warning and indication of potential and pending trouble. Thankfully there are some simple tools to monitor and determine knock and help tune your engine to prevent the conditions which lead to knock and pre-ignition.

The physics

Knock and pre-ignition are phenomena that describe improper or uncontrollable combustion, and both lead to reduced performance and drivability and can even cause catastrophic engine damage. Understanding what these terms describe, the physics behind the phenomenon, why they occur and how to prevent them is the most critical aspect of tuning your engine, as a mistake here will essentially guarantee eventual engine failure.

Ignition

To fully understand the phenomena we must first discuss and understand the basic ignition process itself. Recall that an engine is essentially an air pump and relies on changes on pressure to move air in and out of the engine. Ignition of the air/fuel mixture is initiated by the spark plug when either the ECU or distributor signals the ignition coil to fire. This causes expansion of the previously compressed gas mixture.

Proper timing to ensure maximum power requires ignition of the mixture at the peak pressure in the cylinder. However, since ignition is not an instantaneous event and the flame front propagates through the combustion chamber. This requires the initial spark event to occur Before Top Dead Center (BTDC) and is always measured in degrees of rotation in reference to top dead center. When tuning ignition timing in an ECU map it is these values that are being modified. Typically positive values indicate degrees BTDC while negative values are ATDC.

Timing the spark event to ensure full ignition of the mixture always occurs at peak cylinder pressure will create the most torque from the engine being tuned. The key is to have as little timing advance as possible, while still maintaining this pressure – this is a torque limited ignition mapping method and the value may be referred to as the Mean Best Torque Spark Advance and should always be the target when not limited by engine behavior such as knock or pre-ignition. This is precisely why monitoring and controlling knock is so important.

Knock

Knock, pinging and detonation describe improper propagation of the flame front – in other words, the air/fuel mixture is burning in an inconsistent and unpredictable rate. This causes the final ignition event to occur at a time other than peak cylinder pressure and a decrease in pressure. This can be caused by many issues, including incorrect spark timing, failure of the fuel to atomize, or local hotspots in the combustion chamber. This will cause multiple areas of ignition not in the same location as the flame front. This can be basically described as the ignition force “jumping” around the combustion chamber, rather than coming from one location.
The result is each of these ignition events producing its own pressure or shockwave. These waves propagate from the local ignition point, and run into each other within the cylinder. The result is a combined shockwave resonating at a different frequency than normal combustion and even creates an audible metallic knock or pinging noise, hence the name of this phenomenon. This can case holes in engine components and small indents on the piston face as well as very rapid wear and stress on all engine components.

If knock occurs at an ignition timing value less advanced then that for best torque, the engine is said to be knock limited, as ignition timing is tuned to prevent knock at this map location rather than for maximum torque. This is often the case in higher compression and force induction engines, where pressure and temperature in the cylinder can be very high. The key is to request as much spark advance as possible while avoiding knock during any engine operations and parameters.

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You now must be registered and log-on to comment on any posts. This is necessary due to the recent amount of spam posts I’ve had coming though.

It only takes a second, and it helps me out in the long run, so please take a second and register and continue to post (and always share this blog with your friend!)

Time to start posting regularly again now that my smart phone dilemma is in order and the “regular job” has calmed down again.

The FT-86: If you haven’t heard of this yet you have been living  under a rock (or hiding from tuner fan boys)

The resurrection of the drifting cult hero car – the new hachi has certainly generated excitement and possibly a few wet dreams in the import tuner crowd. With its Subaru based 200hp in a ~2600 lb chassis, rwd, LSD on manual cars and a wide array of the toys that make us giggle like school boys finding our dad’s “ahem “special magazine collection” – it’s no surpise,

Can this car deliver on the hype though? So far Toyota has been mum on official specs and details. The specs that have been circulating the internet as the official numbers come from a leaked training manual in Japanese. If the car delivers, and at the price being rumored of around $20k, it will be quite the contender. I can’t help think that there might be some disappointed young men re-watching their Initial D collection to cope when this car hits the showroom. Anyone remember the Hyundai Genesis? Hype.

I will be writing a little more on this soon and will be watching the developments as this car makes it’s way to the showroom. For now what are your thoughts? Will the car be all it’s hyped up to be? Discuss.

Launch Control
What is it, how does it work and do I need it?

A proper launch is key to success in any level racing. Eliminating wheel spin and wheel hop, maximizing traction, weight transfer and power off the line, and in forced induction car, to build boost before launch are all critical components in the launch of any vehicle. The ability to do all of these consistently and in a controlled fashion with as little impact to the vehicle as practical is key to success in any level of racing. Sophisticated traction control systems can aid in the traction and wheel spin areas, but work by limiting your power. This can seem counterintuitive when you “want to go fast.” In addition, true traction control systems sophisticated enough for racing applications are available only in a handful of exotic cars with a price tag much out of the traditional “tuners” budget. The solution for all of these problems, however, is quite simple: Launch Control.
What is launch control, and how does it work?

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Tweaking the Recipe
Understanding, Determining and Tuning target Air/Fuel Ratios utilizing oxygen sensors and wideband controllers
If you’ve been following the past posts (Volumetric Efficiency Explained and Load Calculation and Control) you should have a grasp on the basic recipe for tuning your engine. Similar to that secret family recipe variation of a common dish though, this mix requires personalized tweaking to take it from just a basic out of the box “heat-and-serve” style tune to something unique and optimized for your vehicle. This process requires patience, attention to detail and just a dash of artistic flare. The good news, however, is that there are many tools that are easily accessible the helping you with this task, and some of them may even already be installed on your vehicle from the factory.

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This picture makes every part of my brain scream and my body automatically flinch. This is just a horrendous accident to come across. The rider keeps his cool and manages to avoid getting tangled up in the flying mess. Original rider escaped serious injury, few minor injuries (broken toes/foot) caused by riders struck by the rotating bike.

See the whole video here

THAT is calm under fire. Yeah. motorcyclists aren’t like the rest of the general population.